In a small farming village in the hills of Nepal, women in bright pink and red saris are picking aromatic herbs. They are not cooking food, but creating an innovative product: biofertilizer based on a centuries-old recipe. Meanwhile, in the densely populated Kathmandu Valley, residents gather at an ancient stone spring that was recently brought back to life by the community itself. Far from sterile labs and tech startups, these scenes represent the cutting edge of a new but deep-rooted trend in Nepal.

In the face of contemporary challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity and rapid urbanisation, Nepal is turning to its most valuable and renewable asset – the age-old wisdom of its people and the power of collective action. This is not just a nostalgic return to the past, but a dynamic process of adapting traditional knowledge to create sustainable, low-cost and remarkably effective solutions. In this article, we look at three key areas where this trend is most evident: forest and water management, agricultural innovation, and the living legacy of traditional medicine. All of these areas share a common theme: the power of communities to take control of the future by drawing on the wisdom of the past.